SAI Global World Watch » Careful Communication and Proper Use of Computershttp://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce
Fri, 08 Jun 2012 17:00:01 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1EU Regulator Awaits Google Concessions on Charges of Market Abusehttp://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/2012/06/eu-regulator-awaits-google-concessions-on-charges-of-market-abuse/
http://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/2012/06/eu-regulator-awaits-google-concessions-on-charges-of-market-abuse/#commentsFri, 08 Jun 2012 16:43:20 +0000Globalhttp://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/?p=9082Google has not addressed concerns from EU regulators regarding the company’s alleged abuse of its market dominance. Joaquin Almunia, EU Competition Commissioner, reached out to Google three weeks ago with a chance to settle the EU’s 18-month probe but the company has yet to respond. If Google does not formally offer concessions, it could face formal charges and face a fine that could be as high as ten percent of the company’s global turnover. Almunia believes the investigation indicates Google may have promoted its own search services over those of rivals and that the company’s advertising deals with websites could have blocked its competition and restricted advertisers from moving their campaigns to other search engines. In a statement released shortly after the commissioner’s comments, Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt said, “We disagree that we are in violation, until they are more precise on what area of the law we are in violation of. Give us the precise data, the precise problem.” The EU commission launched the investigation in November 2010 after Google’s rivals accused the company of manipulating search results to promote their own services over others. To date the commission has received 16 complaints.

]]>http://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/2012/06/eu-regulator-awaits-google-concessions-on-charges-of-market-abuse/feed/0Do Not Track Default Sparks Criticismhttp://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/2012/06/do-not-track-default-sparks-criticism/
http://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/2012/06/do-not-track-default-sparks-criticism/#commentsFri, 08 Jun 2012 05:51:32 +0000Globalhttp://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/?p=8998OnlineMediaDaily (OMD) reports that Microsoft is receiving criticism for its decision “to turn on a do-not-track header by default in its newest browser”. Advertising industry representatives have reportedly criticised the software giant for taking a position contrary to self-regulatory groups in the software industry. According to OMD, the “browser-based do-not-track header sends a request to Web sites” which asks them not to track use and send users ads based on their online activity. The banner reportedly doesn’t block cookies or prevent tracking, but rather leaves it “up to ad networks to decide whether to respect the header”. Criticism from the industry has centred around the failure of the approach to allow users a choice as to whether they are or are not tracked by companies, reports OMD.

]]>http://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/2012/06/do-not-track-default-sparks-criticism/feed/0Facebook Settles Case Involving User-referred Adshttp://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/2012/05/social-network-site-settles-case-involving-user-referred-ads/
http://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/2012/05/social-network-site-settles-case-involving-user-referred-ads/#commentsFri, 25 May 2012 04:26:56 +0000Globalhttp://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/?p=8757Reuters reports that Facebook has arrived at a settlement with five Facebook members who sued the social networking site in 2011 over its “Sponsored Stories” section, which is “an ad that appears on a member’s Facebook page, and generally consists of another friend’s name, profile picture and an assertion that the person ‘likes’ the advertiser”. The plaintiffs reportedly claimed that the “Sponsored Stories” section “violates their right to publicity under California law”. According to Reuters, “the value of a ‘Sponsored Story’ advertisement is at least twice and up to three times the value of a standard Facebook.com ad without a friend endorsement” and US District Judge Lucy Koh “said the plaintiffs had articulated a coherent theory of how they were economically injured by the use of their names, photographs and likenesses”. The terms of the settlement have not been made publicly available, reports Reuters.

]]>http://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/2012/05/social-network-site-settles-case-involving-user-referred-ads/feed/0Twitter First Social Media Site to Allow Users to Opt Out of Trackinghttp://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/2012/05/twitter-first-social-media-site-to-allow-users-to-opt-out-of-tracking/
http://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/2012/05/twitter-first-social-media-site-to-allow-users-to-opt-out-of-tracking/#commentsFri, 18 May 2012 06:26:13 +0000Globalhttp://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/?p=8747In a social media first, Twitter has announced that it will implement a “do not track” feature on its website for users who wish not to be tracked online. Ticking the “do not track” box in a users’ Web browser settings will reportedly mean that “Twitter will then stop receiving page-visit information as they surf the Internet”.However, enabling the “do not track” settings does not automatically stop a web users’ activities from being tracked as “it’s up to online tracking companies to [honour] the preferences”, reports the WSJ. It is reportedly unclear what data will be covered by the “do not track” feature “and whether ad companies will have to completely stop collecting information or can simply stop using that information to serve people ads”.

]]>http://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/2012/05/twitter-first-social-media-site-to-allow-users-to-opt-out-of-tracking/feed/0US Social Networking Service Settles FTC Chargeshttp://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/2012/05/us-social-networking-service-settles-ftc-charges/
http://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/2012/05/us-social-networking-service-settles-ftc-charges/#commentsFri, 11 May 2012 05:22:04 +0000Globalhttp://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/?p=8600The United States (US) Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that Myspace has agreed to reach a settlement with the FTC regarding allegations of misusing users’ personal information for advertising purposes. According to the FTC, “Myspace’s privacy policy promised it would not share users’ personally identifiable information, or use such information in a way that was inconsistent with the purpose for which it was submitted, without first giving notice to users and receiving their permission to do so”, yet provided advertisers with the Friend ID, a persistent unique identifier, “of users who were viewing particular pages on the site”. Advertisers were able to use the Friend ID “to locate a user’s Myspace profile to obtain personal information publicly available on the profile and, in most instances, the user’s full name” and even acquire details of the individual’s broader web-browsing activity. The proposed settlement would prevent Myspace from making such misrepresentations to users and would also require it to put in place “a comprehensive privacy program designed to protect consumers’ information”.

]]>http://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/2012/05/us-social-networking-service-settles-ftc-charges/feed/0Facebook Champions Social Change Regarding Organ Donationhttp://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/2012/05/facebook-champions-social-change-regarding-organ-donation/
http://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/2012/05/facebook-champions-social-change-regarding-organ-donation/#commentsFri, 04 May 2012 05:05:09 +0000Globalhttp://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/?p=8490Facebook has revealed a plan “to encourage everyone on Facebook to start advertising their donor status on their pages, along with their birth dates and schools”. According to organ donation experts, the move could create an informal alternative to motor vehicle departments or online registries and “could, even though it carries less legal weight, lead to more organ donations”, reports The New York Times. Reportedly, Facebook intends to introduce the change in the United States as well as the United Kingdom and “plans to add it in several other countries in the coming months”. Donate Life California chief executive Charlene Zettel reportedly opined that “[i]f people were to declare themselves organ donors on Facebook … it might simplify and hasten the decision for families to approve a donation”, but added that “[w]e do not want people to feel that all they have to do is put their decision to donate on Facebook. We really need to encourage people to go to their state registry”.

]]>http://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/2012/05/facebook-champions-social-change-regarding-organ-donation/feed/0Interactive Website Fails to Test for Security Leakhttp://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/2012/04/interactive-website-fails-to-test-for-security-leak/
http://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/2012/04/interactive-website-fails-to-test-for-security-leak/#commentsFri, 20 Apr 2012 05:15:56 +0000Europe, Middle East and Africahttp://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/?p=8307The UK Information Commissioners Office (ICO) has found that Toshiba Information Systems (UK) has breached the Data Protection Act 1998. The ICO stated that the personal details of individuals registered for an online competition on the company’s website were accessible due to a security flaw. The information included names, addresses and dates of birth, along with contact information. The ICO found that the measures put in place by Toshiba were insufficient “to detect that a Web design error had been made by a third party developer”. ICO head of enforcement Stephen Eckersley urged “UK organisations with interactive websites to make sure they have suitable checks in place before collecting peoples’ details online”. Toshiba has made an undertaking (undated) which includes “the introduction of appropriate and proportionate data security testing on relevant Web applications before they are launched”.

]]>http://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/2012/04/interactive-website-fails-to-test-for-security-leak/feed/0Privacy and Data Protection Complaints Against Facebookhttp://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/2012/04/complaints-against-social-media-company/
http://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/2012/04/complaints-against-social-media-company/#commentsFri, 13 Apr 2012 05:54:35 +0000Globalhttp://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/?p=8182The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPCC) has made available the following findings (all dated 4 April 2012) in relation to complaints made against Facebook under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act:

Of these complaints, the first was found to be well-founded. According to Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart, “[p]rivacy must be built in at the front-end, not added after the fact in response to negative reactions from individual users and data protection authorities”. However, despite some failings, Facebook has generally improved upon its privacy considerations over the past few years, said Ms Stoddart.OPCC’s media release #1 (4 April 2012)OPCC’s media release #2 (4 April 2012)(Source: OPCC)

]]>http://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/2012/04/complaints-against-social-media-company/feed/0Wall Street Firms Adapting for Safer Use of Social Mediahttp://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/2012/03/wall-street-firms-adapting-for-safer-use-of-social-media/
http://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/2012/03/wall-street-firms-adapting-for-safer-use-of-social-media/#commentsFri, 30 Mar 2012 15:55:18 +0000Americashttp://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/?p=8021Wall Street firms are beginning to wade into the somewhat choppy waters of social media. In order to comply with securities regulations, most of these firms block their employees from using their personal accounts on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook while at work and from accessing their personal email accounts. However, in order to access the marketing opportunity these sites present, some companies are turning to outside firms to help them utilize these tools while also complying with applicable securities regulations. Companies like Socialware provide software that allows companies within the financial industry to store pre-written content, archive posted messages, and enable compliance departments to review postings. Socialware counts among its clients the insurance company Guardian Life, asset manager AllianceBernstein and the financial advisor Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. It has not been easy for companies to monitor postings on sites designed to distribute information at such a fast pace. Regulators have already brought charges against individuals in the securities industry based on their Twitter and LinkedIn postings. Still, companies are moving forward with using social media as a tool. Banks like Deutsche Bank and Wells Fargo have begun to allow limited groups of employees to communicate through social media outlets.

]]>http://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/2012/03/wall-street-firms-adapting-for-safer-use-of-social-media/feed/0Users Sue Google Over “Misleading” Privacy Policy Changehttp://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/2012/03/users-sue-search-engine-over-privacy-policy-change-claiming-misleading-and-deceptive-conduct/
http://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/2012/03/users-sue-search-engine-over-privacy-policy-change-claiming-misleading-and-deceptive-conduct/#commentsFri, 30 Mar 2012 04:20:34 +0000Globalhttp://compliance.saiglobal.com/wwcce/?p=7951Bloomberg reports that Google customers are suing the company, claiming that they were deceived by Google’s new privacy rules. The complaint reportedly states that the class action represents “people who held Google accounts and mobile phones powered by its Android operating system from [19 August 2004] to until after 1 March 2012] when the new privacy policy went into effect”. The complaint reportedly alleges that the changes in policy “violates Google’s prior privacy policies, which deceived and misled consumers by stating that Google would not utilize information provided by a consumer in connection with his or her use of one service, with any other service, for any reason, without the user’s consent”. The plaintiffs are reportedly seeking “damages for the alleged deception, as well as for alleged violation of the Computer Fraud Abuse Act and Stored Electronic Communications Act“.